Cooking With Dehydrated Foods, Emergency Preparedness is Fun and Easy

Food Storage Supplies. Survival Kits

Cooking with Dehydrated Foods, Things You''ll Need:

Camp stove or other device for boiling water

Pot or kettle

Measuring cup

Spoon for stirring

1. Determine what you are going to prepare. Anything starchy, such as pasta, rice or potatoes, will require a longer cooking time on a consistent heat source. You can''t just pour water on them and let them be, with these foods you must take care. Other foods, such as dehydrated beans, vegetables and soups can be made easily by simply pouring boiling water on them.

2. Measure the amount of dehydrated food you would like to cook. Most commercially bought products have directions written on the bag or label. If you have dried the food yourself or purchased it in bulk and may not have instructions. A good rule of thumb is to add 1 cup of water for every 1/2 cup of food.

3. The food will reconstitute faster if the water is hot, so... Boil your water. Make sure it comes to a full, rolling boil.

4. Put pasta and rice directly into the boiling water and stir. Turn the heat down to low and stir regularly so it won''t burn. Because dehydrated food is generally pretty bland, add salt, pepper or other herbs and spices to the water while cooking.

5. Pour boiling water over dehydrated beans, vegetables and soups. Basically, anything that isn''t a starch (like pasta or rice) can be prepared this way. If these are store bought, the pouch they came in should be made for this purpose. A good-quality freezer bag, turkey roasting bag or thermos would work. You can always just use the same pot you boiled water in. Again, you can add salt, hot sauce or other flavor enhancers to the water to spice up these foods.

6. Cook until the food is fully reconstituted. The time it will take for this will vary, depending on the type of food, what kind of container you are using and how hot the water is. You''ll be able to tell if it isn''t cooked fully because it will still have a grainy, raw texture to it. Fully cooked foods will be soft and have the consistency of that food in its regularly cooked state.